Compound for smoothing and polishing articles and parts.



i forged parts of such articles. Prior to my UNITED STATES PATENT onrrcn.

w'msLow n. ransons,

or cnrcaoo, rumors.

courounn ron snoornme Ann romsnnie an'rrcnns AND rams.

957,999. No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WINSLOW R. Parsons,

' a citizen of the United States, and a resident.

' brass, or inpart render the parts and articles operative and marketable, as for example in attachments. for sewing machmes, such as hemmers in one or more pieces, the parts of rufflers,

tuckers, embroiderers, screw driver parts,

and any and all other small articles stamped from sheet steel or brass and also cast and invention the common practice has been and still is to first subject these articles to the action of a tumbling barrel in the pres,- ence of pieces of cast iron, steel filings,

emery or other gritty substance for removing as far as may be the burs, but with the result that before the burs are removed the plain surfaces are scratched and the curved and deep surfaces are untouched, thereby requlrin the removal of the articles from the tum ling barrel and finally smoothing and polishing by hand manipulation on emery wheels, buffers and the like.

The prime object of my invention is a compound which in the presence of the articles subjected to the operation of a tumbling barrel is adapted to remove the burs,

I smooth their surface and finally polish them within the confines of the tumbling barrel for immediate use or subsequent plating. In other words, the object'of my invention is a bur removing, smoothing and polishing compound, capable of and adapted to be used in a tumbling barrel for smoothing rough articles and polishing smooth articles and parts not before possible in a tumbling barrel because of injury thereto and at the same time produce a higher state of smoothness and produceab e by the old-hand manipulation.

In carrying out my invention I take a- Specification otletters Patent. Application filed March 29, 1909. Serial No. 486,454.

varying t olish than has heretofore been Patented May 17,1910.

' piece and in whichthere are various angular and curved surfaces, angular and curved tumbling project into and be rubbed against such surfaces and also angular corners without becoming lockedor fastened therein, other pieces of brass being of such form as surfaces, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the operation of tumbling barrels heretofore employed for a great variety of articles and parts. In practice the articles and parts to be smoothed and formly mixed before or during theirintroduction into the barrel. To the metal articles so distributed in the barrel I then add an abrasive material of a fineness thatwill cut the burs and smooth the several surfaces and not coarse enough to scratch any of the surfaces, and this with or without first mixing the abrading material with a neutral oil. For such articles or parts as occur in sewing machine rufilers and other similar small articles stamped out of sheet steel I preferably employ a 180 emery but may employ other abrasives adapted for producin said-cutting without scratchln e abrasive materials as the metals are hard or; soft,'thick or thin. When using a tumbling barrel of a capacity of about eight allons, filled full as before descrlbed, four fths of an ounce of about No. 180 emery and about one used. Any neutral oil may be employed, that is to say any oilsubstantially free from acid in order that all ,of the edges and surfaces may be smoothed without injury to the metals, such as is liable to occur by use of an oil in which there is an acid. It will, however, be no substantial departure from m invention to somewhat increase or d1- minish the quantity of oil and amount and size of the abrasive material, so long as the cutting may take place without scratching the articles and parts, and that the quantity of oil be not toogreat in proportion to tumbling-barrel of any ordinary commonly] used construction and fill it full with the articles and parts to be smoothed, including, if ,1

notches and edges,the brass pieces should be of such a size and form'that they may in their to engage and rub against the several fiat pint of neutral oil isthe brass pieces should be more or less uniarespondingly shorter.

the anr'ount of abrading material employed. In practice it is. however found that when oil and emery are in about the proportions above stated the bars are removed and the articles and parts perfectly smoothed throughout to the highest degree, or in other words by operating the tumbling barrel continuously for about two days time, it will be found that the articles and parts are en tirely free of burs and other roughness of surface. It should however be borne in mind that as the stocks of the articles are thicker and their edges rougher the longer should be continued the operation of the tumbling barrel, and a greater quantity of abrasive material used, and that on the other hand the thinner'the stock of which the articles or parts are composed the length of time of the operation of the tumbling barrel is cor- After removing the burs and smoothing the articles and parts,

.as above described, they are thoroughly cleansed of emery, oil and dirt in the usual manner, and are then polished to the highest possible degree that their surfaces are capable of, for which purpose a neutral oil is introducecl, but no emery, the tumbling barrel being then operated from one to-three days depending upon the desired degree of polish, that is to say for receiving a nickel plating or being used without such a plating, for it will be understood that all of the surfaces of the article or part is so very smooth before the polish, that while the highest degree of polish may be desirable when not nickel plated a less degree of polish will produce a surface sufficient for perfect nickel plating.

For securing the best possible results in the polishing operation, the tumbling barrel should be filled or substantially filled full with the articles or parts and the pieces of brass for reducing their movement against the barrel and against each other to a degree which will prevent any possibility of their being scratched or indented either by i includes the use blows against the barrel or from striking against each other, but at the same time the movements of the steel parts and brass pieces should be sufiiciently free, to produce a sliding rubbing movement between the articles or parts and the pieces of brass for obtaining a perfect fpolish without any possibility of any part 0 their surface being scratched or marred. It should also be observed that the smoothing and polishing effect of pieces of brass upon steel has the same effect upon the brass, and that, therefore, my invention of pieces of steel for polishing brass articles and parts, and that there are many instances in which both brass and metal articles may be polished without the employment of waste pieces of either of these materials, and furthermore owing to the peculiar abrading and smoothing of these two differing materials when opposed to each other in a tumbling barrel both brass and steel articles or parts may be subjected to the action of a tumbling barrel in the absence of waste of either and the result will be the same even though single articles may be composed in parts both of brass and steel.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent of the United States is:

1. A compound for smoothing and polishing metal articles and parts, the base of which consists of pieces of brass and oil.

2. A compound for smoothing and polishing metal articles and parts consisting of pieces of brass and a neutral oil.

3.'A compound for smoothing and polish ing metal articles and parts consisting of pieces of brass, oil and an abrasive material, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this 25th day of Mar. A. D. 1909.

WINSLOW R. PARSONS. [L.s.]

W'itnesses:

' JNo. G.'ELLIO'1'1,

F. E. BRoM, 

